StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.38.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of StoneCo from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of StoneCo from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on StoneCo from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

StoneCo Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:STNE traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,280,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,001,558. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 2.25. StoneCo has a 12-month low of $7.72 and a 12-month high of $18.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in StoneCo by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 21,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of StoneCo by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 7,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in StoneCo by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 123,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in StoneCo by 254.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,256 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in StoneCo by 19.0% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 20,258 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 3,241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.19% of the company's stock.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.